The Graduate Training Program in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at Stony Brook University trains Ph.D. students in the broad area of cell and molecular biology for careers in academia, government and industry. The Program is based in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences in the School of Medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook, but has an interdepartmental faculty including 64 potential mentors, 35 of whom are from other University Departments or the nearby Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratories. Students take courses in biochemistry, computational and cell biology, physiology and molecular genetics in the first year, with pharmacology and elective courses in the second year. The curriculum includes advanced courses in Neuropharmacology (including signal transduction), in Drug Design and DNA Damage, Repair and Carcinogenesis. Faculty members have been recruited to the Training Program to strengthen these areas. The training environment includes an active seminar series and participation in research symposia and minicourses. Training also involves experience teaching in courses offered to undergraduate majors in pharmacology. First year students participate in three laboratory rotations to prepare them to undertake dissertation research in any of the laboratories of the Training Program Faculty. The Training Program has trained 119 Ph.D. students in its 37-year history, and has 31 current trainees. The presence of seven underrepresented minority and 2 underprivileged students in the Program attests to a successful effort to recruit minority applicants. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology training program provides graduate students with a solid background in the discipline of Pharmacology by bringing together training faculty from different research fields involved in the discovery, development and use of therapeutic compounds, offering courses both in the basic principles and systems pharmacology and by providing opportunities to the students to present their research in national and international meetings. The training grant supports the students early during their training (1st and sometimes 2nd year), aids in the recruitment and retention of diverse students and supports training in responsible conduct in research.